First Fill

I had my first fill earlier today. I was terrified. I knew that getting an adjustment meant having a hypodermic needle inserted through my skin and into the port. That needle scared me. I don't like needles, I try to avoid them and I knew this needle was going to be poking into my stomach. By the time I got Delano Regional Medical Center, and took the elevator up to Dr. Keshishian's office I was shaking. I had to wait since it was a busy morning, and the same urge I had pre-surgery to run tried to over take me.

I stuck it out and I am glad I did. Dr. Keshishian asked me some questions about how much I could eat, when I felt hungry, how soon after eating did I become hungry and after what I told him he confirmed that I needed an adjustment. He left and came back with a box from the company that makes the band, the box was even labeled adjustment kit.

After that he laid me down and wiped off the skin over my port. I tried not to look but couldn't help it, the needle wasn't as big as I expected it to be. When he finally inserted the needle into my stomach I didn't even feel it. I could feel it as he manipulated the needle around trying to hit the rubber stopper of the port. But the worst pain felt like a normal injection in your arm. Adjustments are no big deal. The fear and anxiety I felt was wasted. After the needle was in the doctor sat me up and gave me a drink of water. As I drank the water he asked me to tell him when I could feel the water in my chest, then he removed fluid and asked me to tell him when the water was no longer in my chest. After which he inserted more saline to give me some restriction.

When I went into the doctors appointment I was hungry. I had been too nervous to eat in the morning. By the time I walked out of Dr. Keshishian's office I was full and for the rest of the day all I consumed was less than half of a Kellogg's protein shake. Its fantastic. This is the kind of restriction I need to keep losing weight. It's hard sometimes, I want to eat, but knowing that I can't forces me to make the right decisions and that means that I am getting thinner, healthier and overall happier.